Fatal Fostie murdered 2yo

Jury selection starts in killing of 2-year-old foster child

June 4, 2007

By RUBY L. BAILEY

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Jury selection is under way today in the case of the former Detroit
foster mother charged in connection with the August 2006 death of
2-year-old Isaac Lethbridge.

A pool of 48 prospective jurors was called to Wayne County Circuit Court.

Charlsie Adams-Rogers, 59, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in
Isaac’s death, and two counts of child abuse involving the boy and his
4-year-old sister, who also was in Adams-Rogers’ state-licensed foster home.

Isaac died after being beaten and burned in the home on Aug. 16, 2006.
Law enforcement authorities have not charged anyone with inflicting the
fatal injuries. Adams-Rogers denied harming the boy, saying it was an
“unfortunate accident.” She blamed her 12-year-old adopted daughter.
Nearly a dozen people were in the home that day.

Prosecutors sought to charge Adams-Rogers on the theory that, as a
licensed foster parent, she was responsible for any harm that may have
come to children in her care. She faces up to 15 years in prison if
convicted of the most serious charge.

Isaac and his sister were removed from their parents’ home on neglect
charges in September 2005. According to a Free Press investigation
published earlier this year, the two were placed in three troubled
foster homes by the Lula Belle Stewart Center of Detroit. The state
suspended the center’s foster care license after Isaac’s death.

Defense attorney Warren Harris said that he expects a jury will be
seated and opening statements will be made this afternoon. Judge Vera
Massey Jones is hearing the case.

Isaac’s parents, Matt and Jennifer Lethbridge, sat quietly in the courtroom.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com